An Analysis of the Decriminalisation of Adultery in India: A Transition from Patriarchal Morality to Constitutional Equality

Written by: V R Kalyani, B.A. LL.B., VELS Institute Of Science And Technology And Advanced Studies 

Abstract

This paper critically examines the decriminalisation of adultery in India, focusing on the constitutional transformation from patriarchal morality to gender equality. For 158 years, Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 criminalised adultery in a manner that reinforced gender stereotypes by punishing only men while treating women as passive victims. Earlier judicial decisions attempted to justify this asymmetry under Article 15(3), but such reasoning entrenched inequality. The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Joseph Shine v Union of India (2019) unanimously struck down Section 497 and Section 198(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, recognising that the criminalisation of adultery violated Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Constitution. The judgment marked a jurisprudential shift towards constitutional morality, affirming privacy, dignity, and individual autonomy. The study concludes that adultery, while morally contentious, is best addressed as a civil wrong within matrimonial law rather than through criminal sanctions.

Keywords: Adultery, Gender Justice, Constitutional Morality, Privacy, Equality, Indian Penal Code

Kalyani .pdf

Download PDF • 338KB

Volume 1 | Issue 6